Belgian Junior Van den Steen Loses Competition Horse in Fire

Belgian junior rider team member Amber van den Steen suffered a big blow. She lost one of her competition horses in a barn fire on Saturday night 1 December 2018.

Van den Steen was a new comer on the international show circuit in 2018. Aboard Fame making it straight onto the Belgian team for the 2018 European Junior Riders Championships.

At the 2018 Belgian Junior Riders Championships she saddled the 10-year old KWPN bred Dutch Lord VS (by Lord Leatherdale x Halmet) and finished with bronze after they were second in the team test (67.242%), third in the individual test (68,206%) and third in the Kur (71.125%).

On Saturday night 1 December a fire broke out in Van den Steen's stable at her grand parents' home in Vollezele, Belgium. One horse, Dutch Lord VS, perished in the fire while three others were saved.

The cause of the fire was a short circuit in the TL-lighting above Dutch Lord's stall. The horse probably died of electrocution or suffocation from the smoke.

"It wasn't meant to be," a saddened Van den Steen commented. "We had such a big future ahead of us but fate decided otherwise."